History
Before we delve into where these monsters, yokai, demon, ayakashi, etc., we need to learn more on the general history. Rough Timeline These specific eras are milestones in the evolution of yokai. 794-1185 AD (Heian Period) 1337-1573 AD (Muromachi Period) 1603-1867 AD (Edo Period) 1868-1912 (Meiji Period) Time Periods and Contributions to the Evolution of Yokai Heian Period During this period, there were Chinese missionaries that came to Japan who introduced the Onmyou-dou philosophy. This influenced the religious beliefs, and other practices such as divination. Onmyou-dou philosophy believed in the concept of chi/ki, a life energy that is inherent within all things, that is constantly changing everywhere, physical forms, the intangible, and even invisible beings. The concept of chi/ki roots back to Taoist philosophy from China. This concept led to the existence of the concept of yokai , mononoke, through the unexplained phenomena that people could not understand. Phenomena associated with causing disease, fear, misfortune, social outcasting, and unexplainable events, were believed to be related to mononoke. In this time period, many of the mononoke were 'created' as names and traits were given due to the phenomena they had no answer for. These became part of lore where they were feared and revered.Zília. Anime and Its Roots in Early Japanese Monster Art. Leiden: BRILL, 2010, 11-12 Muromachi Period Yokai did not have any visual representations back during the Heian period because people feared the power of image magic. Eventually these characters did take on visual form through picture scrolls. However, they were presented in a more humorous manner. One the most notable works depicting yokai in the Muromachi period was the first Hyakki Yagyou (Night Parade of One Hundred Demons), which marked the start of yokai depiction or yokai-ga. Although yokai-ga are images of yokai, one of the problems that artists had trouble with until the Meiji period how to represent the concept of yokai, which was the transmutability or the moment of change itself, so many of these depictions relied on narration. 18-19 Edo and Tokugawa Period The Encyclopedic Mode This came about in the early half of the Edo period, where it was essentially a method where things were collected and catalogued and labeled into compressed units of knowledge. These collections of informational units can be broken down and manipulated as separate units for those who have mastered them. The Encyclopedic mode is also tied into Neo-Confucianism and state ideologies; they especially believed that everything in the world was worth investigating, which encouraged recording and organizing information about the natural world. This led to the development of indigenous natural history studies and guidebooks for people in the various social classes. The curiosity of the natural and supernatural world within the investigative desire to analyze it, became an underlying role in the culture of the Tokugawa period. Another contribution that aided the Encyclopedic mode during the Tokugawa period, was the introduction of Zhu Xi's philosophy, Shushigaku which encouraged intellectual curiosity and exploring everything. Michael Dylan. Pandemonium and Parade : Japanese Monsters and the Culture of Yokai. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2008. 31-32 This encyclopedic mode also led to some predecessors before Toriyama seiken's bestiaries. One of these were the Kinnouzai, which was compiled by Nakamura Tekisai. His encyclopedias, originally intended for children, essentially created a template for the other encyclopedias to follow on in the popular imagination. However, it doesn't distinguish between normal animals and those that have supernatural abilities and local yokai are classified under oni. Furthermore, yokai aren't placed into their own category because there wasn't a method to extract any information about the unusual or supernatural abilities they carried as criteria for classification. Another problem was the way the Kinnouzai's classification system was set as it was a bit confusing, where it is primarily decided by the corporeal shape of the the thing portrayed. 35-39 Another predecessor is the Wakan Sansaizue. Compiled by Terajima Ryouan, these one hundred and five volumes were published around 1713, around the second half of the Edo period. The Wakan Sansaizue followed the template pattern that Tekisai left with the Kinnouzai. This differed from the Kinnouzai, as it was more academic and had more sophisticated commentary. Similar in a way to its predecessor, the Wakan Sansaizue did not distinguish between what was supernatural and what was biological characteristics. Ryouan also includes earlier documents, folklore, and his own observations into the mix, but also distinguishes the between his Chinese sources and Japanese folk knowledge. 39-46 Both the Kinnouzai and Wakan Sansaizue, highlight the visual within their catalogues. The Kinnouzai relied more heavily on illustration while the latter used descriptions alongisde the illustrations. Ludic Mode This came about the same time as the encyclopedic mode, in the reign of Tokugawa during the Edo period, or better known as the Tokugawa period. The ludic mode is more of a focus towards entertainment or a sense of play which led to the "ukiyo" which affected the art, literature, and theatre. Because the ludic and encyclopedic mode were in the same period, there was definitely influence from one to the other. The sense of playfulness from the ludic could be seen within the encyclopedic mode. There is speculation on if this pursuit of the ludic within the arduous process of cataloguing led to the concept of yokai as a category within these books, and as possible inspiration for Toriyama Seiken. 48-49 Toriyama Seiken Unlike his predecessors, Toriyama Seiken, is well-known for his bestiaries. His sets of texts illustrated over two hundred yokai. Seiken's first catalogue was the Gazu Hyakkiyagyou, which was written in 1776. The success of the first catalogue led to four more installments such as the Konjaku Gazu Zokuhyakki. What set it apart from other encyclopedic catalogues, was the fact that he separated the yokai from their narrative context and the format change he made. He organizes their information into a reference page style, where each creature has its own page and written in a non-narrative format. Seiken wrote his catalogues in the ludic tradition which carried aspects of poetry which worked well within the Edo world of poetry. Alongside the poetic texts, he would also use word games within the Japanese character in the text to engage the reader. The way he documented the yokai also included this playfulness which led to creativity and newer yokai being created; this blurred the line on what was considered real and imaginary. This caused a shift in the yokai movement, where it progressed from abstract phenomena to just strange things. It was around the third catalogue that the newer yokai from Seiken's creations started appearing once all the "popular" yokai were portrayed. Eventually there was a large consumer demand for more of the new demons and deities, which reflected how many people read the catalogues due to the engaging humor from the artwork. Although the newer yokai were popular, they didn't forget and get rid of the traditional yokai as there was still an interest in the strange and mysterious as they continued to exist. The influence of the ludic and Seiken's bestiaries aided in the permeation of yokai throughout literature, art and pop culture by the end of the Tokugawa period in Edo, Osaka, and Kyoto. 55-71 Meiji Period This era was mainly determining where Japan stood with outsiders and modernism. Their influence affected the mindset of the Japanese in the case of not wanting to associate with Westerners. Yokai at this point became a way for foreigners to be represented. At the same time though, yokai started moving into the field of academia. Two contributors that assisted are Inoue Enryou and Yanagita Kunio. By the end of this period, and into the Taisho and Showa period, yokai were used in state-controlled media as a metaphor for outsiders.Zília. 41-44 Inoue Enryou As a scholar and self-proclaimed disperser of knowledge and enlightenment, Inoue Enryou was responsible for the start of yokai-gaku, or yokai studies. He sought out originally to gather all information on yokai and try to apply science to them in order to distinguish what could be proven and what wasn't as "True Mystery". Although the yokai studies didn't really become a new natural science, his definition of what the "True Mystery" was, which was simply a political ploy for the fact that an Imperial ruler had sacred power and spiritual divine abilities. This then gave the emperor rule over local yokai and further placing yokai in a new role. It was because the emperor had divine light that the conclusion was drawn that yokai were to represent the dark and polluted. Essentially what led to the yokai's roles as outsiders or foreigners when it came to the end of the Meiji within representations of war. 41 Yanagita Kunio Seeing that yokai studies didn't pan out overall as a science, Yanagita Kunio had just as much difficulty in applying it into anthropology. He established new folk studies, minzoku gaku, in order to collect and analyze folk knowledge about the supernatural and yokai. Unlike Enryou, Yanagita took a different opinion on things relating to yokai. He believed that the folk knowledge and tradition of yokai should be collected, preserved, and treasured as they are a part of Japanese history. Because of Yanagita, lots of folk knowledge and traditions about yokai that were on the brink of being lost, especially those from oral sources, were preserved. His focus on the studies later shifts to a different motive, the stengthening of patriotism and the concept of a unified family-state. These ideals also added to how yokai roles were in war time in state controlled media. 43-44